Question: Got any good news?
Answer: Happy Sunday! Here are two pieces of news that I really enjoyed, but I’m a little late to the party in sharing:
- Earlier this month, Japan’s Fuji-Q Highland amusement park reopened with a new request for visitors riding roller coasters — “Please scream inside your heart.” This request is to limit the virus transmission since screaming and loud talking may increase respiratory droplet spread. And just like that, a meme was born along with calls to make this the new motto for 2020 (Figure 1).
- In addition to giving us our 2020 motto, Japan has also given us our 2020 mascot, Amabie’ (pronounced a-ma-bee-ay) (Figures 2 and 3). As described in this recent article from JAMA, “Amabié — A Japanese Symbol of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Amabie’ is “a legendary mermaid-like creature who is said to emerge from the sea to prophesize good harvests and epidemics.” She originally gained attention in 1846 after the local newspaper shared the story and sketch (Figure 2) from an unnamed officer who reportedly went to the seaside to explore a strange light. What he found there was a mermaid-like creature who told him, “I live in the sea. My name is Amabié. Good harvest will continue for six years. At the same time disease will spread. Draw me and show me to the people as soon as possible,” before submerging. According to the JAMA article, which is a really enjoyable read, Amabie’ has been trending in Japan as a popular symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic since mid-March. In response, “Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has leveraged the character’s popularity to raise awareness about the importance of staying home and physical distancing for prevention of infection, in line with other efforts to recruit manga and anime characters to advance public health messaging… Amabié is also a feature character in the official national coronavirus contact tracing app released June 19, 2020.”
Figure 1. Please Scream Inside Your Heart (from Twitter)
Figure 2. Original Drawing of Amabie’ , 1846 (from JAMA)
Figure 3. Recent Depictions of Amabie’ (from JAMA)
